Reading Aloud

Reading daily to our children is important for both the pleasure it brings in its own right and for the future benefits it promises for academic, professional, and even economic success. Here are few ideas for making reading an interactive journey.

For three nights in a row, after dinner and our nightly blood-oxygen level tests, I read aloud for about 15-20 minutes, while we huddled in the dining tent, wearing warm hats and drinking hot chocolate.

Reading aloud delivers a deep comfort for a child. In stories, they find a safe place to return to, and tools to navigate life. Books provide a risk-free environment to grapple with the world's big questions.

It's that time of year again; time to take stock and make changes. Instead of pledging yet again to take off extra pounds or cut back on spending, your kids have something else in mind for you. The following are the New Year's resolutions that they'd like you to make -- and keep.

On World Read Aloud Day, I honor the many authors who write for children, for their tender care of the precious lives and understandings of children. Of their fears, hopes and dreams. Of using language to say, beloved child, you are never alone.